It's snowing in DC. I'm staring out my 4th floor window watching it accumulate on the roof of Robert Kennedy's old church. Wonders never cease.
I haven't updated this, really, in over a month, which is too bad. It's been a busy month. I celebrated the sickest (literally) and most pathetic Christmas with my family to date. I rang in the New Year in New York, my 23rd birthday in Ireland, and the dawn of a new era in Washington, D.C. But more on all of that later.
I'm back in DC now, and experiencing something unexpected: unemployment. Oops. I moved down here to take a non-profit job, fighting the good fight for $24,000. As it turns out it really wasn't the job I thought I was being hired for. I'll spare the gory details here, but the highlights include a required 80 to 100 hour work week, being in the office 6 or (preferably) 7 days a week (how else do you work 100 hours a week?), and going door to door, alone, in the dark, everyday in random areas of VA and MD.
...
I don't think it's unreasonable to not want to do these things, especially for a salary that would be equivalent to making $5 or $6 per hour.
So back to square one. I have a couple interviews lined up, and we'll see what comes. Right now, I'm going to go take pictures of the Welcome to Washington snow. Maybe the Obama girls will be outside building snowmen.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
We'll take a cup of kindness yet for Auld Lang Syne...
I haven't posted in nearly a month. Poor form. I won't review everything I've done over the last few weeks, because that would be long and boring for most people. Just suffice to say my holiday was probably a lot like your holiday, unless, of course, you don't celebrate holidays, in which case you probably had an awesome time catching up on all those old episodes of House.
I rang in 2009 by clinking glasses with a bunch of Upstate New Yorkers in a cozy apartment in Astoria. I feel like my New Year's festivities ended up being really symbolic of my year as a whole. I managed to spend New Year's Eve in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, mostly with my backpack on. It was highly nomadic which, if you've been following along, just fits. Also, I managed in one month (and mostly in the 3 to 4 days leading up to midnight '09) to see every single one of my best friends from high school, college (minus Kathleen, geez!) and best of all, kindergarten. I've been particularly privileged this year to build a lot of new friendships, and to those people I'm very thankful. But I'm also truly thankful for the friendships from home and almost-home that I have had for 5 years, ten years, some for over 15 years. A lot of the people I call my best friends now are the same best friends I had in elementary school. If you want a way to stay grounded, that's it. So yes, New Year's was freezing cold and it involved sleeping on floors and a bit too much Carson Daly, but it was a fitting end to an amazing year.
New Year's 2009 made me laugh, mostly because it was so different from NYE '08. If we could step in the Way Back Machine for a moment, let's take a step back to 2007. What a God awful year. Friends moved, loved ones passed away, people cheated, money disappeared, diagnoses were made, Bush was still president with little end in sight, and all of it was an utter, rotting pile of crap. Of my close friends, I can only think of one or two people that didn't experience something life-changing and fantastically depressing. In the days leading up to January 1, "good riddance" and "f*ck 2007" were probably the words I heard most often. I spent New Year's Eve skiing with Austin and going to a big bonfire downtown. At the end of the countdown we both looked at each other, said "Well...thank God that's over," and then went to Ernest's house to eat flan.
True, my first meal of 2008 was flan, but I didn't let that get me down. Fast forward 12 months, and here I am in a little apartment in Queens, toasting with friends and feeling a little remorseful because - I admit it - I wasn't totally down with 2008 ending. Personally, I had wonderful year, complete with major accomplishments, travel, and much time spent with friends and family. I laughed a lot in 2008. I had a lot of odd jobs, and I said yes more often, which is always an adventure. So I'll be honest: I was sad to see it go. But hey - what a fabulous turnaround, 2008. What a great hope for the future.
A new government's coming in, a fresh slew of New Year's Resolutions are already being forgotten, and to date, no one has tricked me into eating flan this year. Hopefully the trend continues. Have a happier, healthier 2009. Nobody deserves it more than you.
I rang in 2009 by clinking glasses with a bunch of Upstate New Yorkers in a cozy apartment in Astoria. I feel like my New Year's festivities ended up being really symbolic of my year as a whole. I managed to spend New Year's Eve in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, mostly with my backpack on. It was highly nomadic which, if you've been following along, just fits. Also, I managed in one month (and mostly in the 3 to 4 days leading up to midnight '09) to see every single one of my best friends from high school, college (minus Kathleen, geez!) and best of all, kindergarten. I've been particularly privileged this year to build a lot of new friendships, and to those people I'm very thankful. But I'm also truly thankful for the friendships from home and almost-home that I have had for 5 years, ten years, some for over 15 years. A lot of the people I call my best friends now are the same best friends I had in elementary school. If you want a way to stay grounded, that's it. So yes, New Year's was freezing cold and it involved sleeping on floors and a bit too much Carson Daly, but it was a fitting end to an amazing year.
New Year's 2009 made me laugh, mostly because it was so different from NYE '08. If we could step in the Way Back Machine for a moment, let's take a step back to 2007. What a God awful year. Friends moved, loved ones passed away, people cheated, money disappeared, diagnoses were made, Bush was still president with little end in sight, and all of it was an utter, rotting pile of crap. Of my close friends, I can only think of one or two people that didn't experience something life-changing and fantastically depressing. In the days leading up to January 1, "good riddance" and "f*ck 2007" were probably the words I heard most often. I spent New Year's Eve skiing with Austin and going to a big bonfire downtown. At the end of the countdown we both looked at each other, said "Well...thank God that's over," and then went to Ernest's house to eat flan.
True, my first meal of 2008 was flan, but I didn't let that get me down. Fast forward 12 months, and here I am in a little apartment in Queens, toasting with friends and feeling a little remorseful because - I admit it - I wasn't totally down with 2008 ending. Personally, I had wonderful year, complete with major accomplishments, travel, and much time spent with friends and family. I laughed a lot in 2008. I had a lot of odd jobs, and I said yes more often, which is always an adventure. So I'll be honest: I was sad to see it go. But hey - what a fabulous turnaround, 2008. What a great hope for the future.
A new government's coming in, a fresh slew of New Year's Resolutions are already being forgotten, and to date, no one has tricked me into eating flan this year. Hopefully the trend continues. Have a happier, healthier 2009. Nobody deserves it more than you.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Winding Down
This is my last week in DC. Tear! Currently, I'm still on the job hunt, but with a few bright spots on the horizon. I've had interviews at 2 different places that I'm waiting to hear from, and have 3 more interviews coming up. I've applied to several jobs in DC because I love the city and would love to continue to grow the social network I have here. In the name of adventure, however, I've applied all over the country - and by "country" I mean "the East Coast and New Orleans". We'll see.
I'm going home on Dec 20th, and all of my Bing friends will be home, however briefly, for Christmas & the Sparkle Party, so that's very exciting. I'm torn about what to do for New Year's this year. The people I usually celebrate with will be in Wisconsin and NYC, respectively, and I've also been invited down to DC to do...something. Details are unclear. Ideally, I think New Year's would be best spent playing Rock Band in somebody's basement, but people can never be that chill on New Year's.
But more exciting things are happening! For the first time in my life, my birthday will not be spent in Binghamton, NY because on January 11th I will be....
in Ireland!
I'm super psyched. I'm going to visit Ernest from January 9th - January 18th in Limerick, and wherever else we decide to journey - very possibly to Dublin because - OMG - Laura and Sofi might be coming to Dublin from Sweden January 16th - 18th!!! Ernest doesn't know that yet...but I guess he'll find out here. Don't worry Ernest, if it works out that way, they are very cool chicks, I swear.
So, then I return to the great state of New York for about oh, 12 hours, before battling my way back to DC for the inauguration on the 20th. I can't believe after 8 God awful years that it's only 5 weeks away. Should be a romping good time.
And then, hopefully, I start my new job. In DC. Or, you know, wherever.
I'm going home on Dec 20th, and all of my Bing friends will be home, however briefly, for Christmas & the Sparkle Party, so that's very exciting. I'm torn about what to do for New Year's this year. The people I usually celebrate with will be in Wisconsin and NYC, respectively, and I've also been invited down to DC to do...something. Details are unclear. Ideally, I think New Year's would be best spent playing Rock Band in somebody's basement, but people can never be that chill on New Year's.
But more exciting things are happening! For the first time in my life, my birthday will not be spent in Binghamton, NY because on January 11th I will be....
in Ireland!
I'm super psyched. I'm going to visit Ernest from January 9th - January 18th in Limerick, and wherever else we decide to journey - very possibly to Dublin because - OMG - Laura and Sofi might be coming to Dublin from Sweden January 16th - 18th!!! Ernest doesn't know that yet...but I guess he'll find out here. Don't worry Ernest, if it works out that way, they are very cool chicks, I swear.
So, then I return to the great state of New York for about oh, 12 hours, before battling my way back to DC for the inauguration on the 20th. I can't believe after 8 God awful years that it's only 5 weeks away. Should be a romping good time.
And then, hopefully, I start my new job. In DC. Or, you know, wherever.
Pictures
I just spent over 1/2 an hour trying to upload pictures from the last three months on to facebook with no luck. No DC pictures for you!
Okay, a couple.
ACT UP! Graffiti on the Berlin Wall, now preserved at the Newseum.
My pal, author Neil Gaimen reading from his new book way back in September.
A view of DC from atop the Washington Monument. You can almost see my building from there!
A great idea.
And because I can't find the brochure from the Alexandria walking tour, an explanation from Wikipedia:
In 1830, John Hollensbury's home in Alexandria, Virginia was one of two homes directly bordering an alleyway which received an annoying amount of horse-drawn wagon traffic and loiterers. To prevent people from using the alleyway, Hollensbury constructed a 7-foot (2.1 m) wide, 25-foot (7.6 m) deep, 325-square-foot (30.2 m2), two-story home using the existing brick walls of the adjacent homes for the sides of the new home. The brick walls of the Hollensbury Spite House living room have gouges from wagon-wheel hubs, and the house is still standing and occupied.
Okay, a couple.
ACT UP! Graffiti on the Berlin Wall, now preserved at the Newseum.
My pal, author Neil Gaimen reading from his new book way back in September.
A view of DC from atop the Washington Monument. You can almost see my building from there!
A great idea.
And because I can't find the brochure from the Alexandria walking tour, an explanation from Wikipedia:
In 1830, John Hollensbury's home in Alexandria, Virginia was one of two homes directly bordering an alleyway which received an annoying amount of horse-drawn wagon traffic and loiterers. To prevent people from using the alleyway, Hollensbury constructed a 7-foot (2.1 m) wide, 25-foot (7.6 m) deep, 325-square-foot (30.2 m2), two-story home using the existing brick walls of the adjacent homes for the sides of the new home. The brick walls of the Hollensbury Spite House living room have gouges from wagon-wheel hubs, and the house is still standing and occupied.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
It's Human Rights Day!
I went to American University today and was mistaken for a faculty member. Awesome!
But more importantly, today is international Human Rights Day, marked to celebrate the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN in 1948. The day symbolizes both celebration of past accomplishments as well as ongoing struggles. Amnesty International always hosts events around the world, including the Global Write-a-thon. Even if you don't read this until after Human Rights Day, think about writing a letter from Amnesty's action prompts, or donating. Human rights are important every day.
So go celebrate.
I've been thinking a lot about what we call our rights. For example, there's a lot of bruhaha over the marriage equality debate and the use of the words "civil rights". On the one hand, we are talking about marriage which is a civil issue (correct?), and the right to marry. So civil rights. However, the term civil rights is pretty much inseparable from the Civil Rights Movement, and some people feel that it's a word that you shouldn't and can't co-opt because of that - especially in light of all the "blacks are to blame for Prop 8!" crap that came out after the election.
So if not civil rights, then what? Some people seem to think that "human rights" would be a better term. Others argue that human rights are those very basic things: food, water, shelter, medicine, safety from violence. But wouldn't you put "the pursuit of happiness" in that list? Isn't that the point of the list? It's the base of Maslow's triangle! The whole reason for advocating for these things is that people can't be happy without them. So does that mean that the pursuit of happiness is a human right? And wouldn't marriage - or whatever one might call the ability to be with the one you love and have it be legally recognized - therefore be a human right?
I'm still not sure about all this. The best I've been able to come up with is "equal rights". I feel that even if the left can't agree on the names, we can at least agree that everyone deserves equal rights.
But more importantly, today is international Human Rights Day, marked to celebrate the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN in 1948. The day symbolizes both celebration of past accomplishments as well as ongoing struggles. Amnesty International always hosts events around the world, including the Global Write-a-thon. Even if you don't read this until after Human Rights Day, think about writing a letter from Amnesty's action prompts, or donating. Human rights are important every day.
So go celebrate.
I've been thinking a lot about what we call our rights. For example, there's a lot of bruhaha over the marriage equality debate and the use of the words "civil rights". On the one hand, we are talking about marriage which is a civil issue (correct?), and the right to marry. So civil rights. However, the term civil rights is pretty much inseparable from the Civil Rights Movement, and some people feel that it's a word that you shouldn't and can't co-opt because of that - especially in light of all the "blacks are to blame for Prop 8!" crap that came out after the election.
So if not civil rights, then what? Some people seem to think that "human rights" would be a better term. Others argue that human rights are those very basic things: food, water, shelter, medicine, safety from violence. But wouldn't you put "the pursuit of happiness" in that list? Isn't that the point of the list? It's the base of Maslow's triangle! The whole reason for advocating for these things is that people can't be happy without them. So does that mean that the pursuit of happiness is a human right? And wouldn't marriage - or whatever one might call the ability to be with the one you love and have it be legally recognized - therefore be a human right?
I'm still not sure about all this. The best I've been able to come up with is "equal rights". I feel that even if the left can't agree on the names, we can at least agree that everyone deserves equal rights.
Friday, December 5, 2008
free.will.power
Let's talk about NARAL Pro-Choice America's newest project, free.will.power.
The website, myfreewillpower.com, is meant to help young people learn about reproductive rights and how to protect them. It feature lots of cool stuff like videos of spoken word artists, a tee-shirt design contest*, a quiz, and various action alerts. You can also sign the free.will.power declaration. Go check out the site!
*Which is over today at 5, so send your designs quick!
The website, myfreewillpower.com, is meant to help young people learn about reproductive rights and how to protect them. It feature lots of cool stuff like videos of spoken word artists, a tee-shirt design contest*, a quiz, and various action alerts. You can also sign the free.will.power declaration. Go check out the site!
*Which is over today at 5, so send your designs quick!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Because one of the only things dorkier than politics is Star Wars
So, the other night Emily called me and left the following message:
"Hello Katie, this is Barack Obama. I was just calling at the request of my secretary, Shmi, she thought you would be an excellent candidate for Top Jedi in my cabinet. So, if you could just give me a call back sometime, I'll probably be up for a while or else we can talk tomorrow night or the next night, just get me back. This is urgent. I need someone who is very handy with a light saber and I think that you would do just the trick. Goodbye, and I salute you."
I salute you. I called her back, and left this message:
"Hi President Obama, this is Katie getting back to you about the position of Top Jedi. I just wanted to say that I think it would be totally bitchin'. I'm going to need somewhere to dock my transport unit, but I figure you probably already have one of those on the roof of the White House. So, yeah, gimme a call back, B-Rock."
So she called me back, and left this message:
"Yo, this is B-rock, not to be confused Brian from the Backstreet Boys. Actually this is your President-elect. And I know that our term in office together is going to be as... epic as this game of phone tag. So if give me a call back I will tell you all about how I've one upped your offer. I actually have a sweet pod fitted with huge like bass speakers, a little handy light saber power-up and also, um...... cool lights that cut through the fog. So, if you want to see that, if you want to take a little joy ride around DC, just hit me back up on my cell. Peace out!"
My favorite part is the sweet fog lights incentive.
"Hello Katie, this is Barack Obama. I was just calling at the request of my secretary, Shmi, she thought you would be an excellent candidate for Top Jedi in my cabinet. So, if you could just give me a call back sometime, I'll probably be up for a while or else we can talk tomorrow night or the next night, just get me back. This is urgent. I need someone who is very handy with a light saber and I think that you would do just the trick. Goodbye, and I salute you."
I salute you. I called her back, and left this message:
"Hi President Obama, this is Katie getting back to you about the position of Top Jedi. I just wanted to say that I think it would be totally bitchin'. I'm going to need somewhere to dock my transport unit, but I figure you probably already have one of those on the roof of the White House. So, yeah, gimme a call back, B-Rock."
So she called me back, and left this message:
"Yo, this is B-rock, not to be confused Brian from the Backstreet Boys. Actually this is your President-elect. And I know that our term in office together is going to be as... epic as this game of phone tag. So if give me a call back I will tell you all about how I've one upped your offer. I actually have a sweet pod fitted with huge like bass speakers, a little handy light saber power-up and also, um...... cool lights that cut through the fog. So, if you want to see that, if you want to take a little joy ride around DC, just hit me back up on my cell. Peace out!"
My favorite part is the sweet fog lights incentive.
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